Thursday, 28 October 2010

Distinctly Chic: Southwestern Jewellery

Preceding the Europeans' arrival in the Americas, Native Indian jewellery was fairly simple in technique, consisting primarily of hammering and etching copper into pendants or earrings and fashioning copper and silver into beads. Then, in the mid-19th century, when Navajo, Hopi and Pueblo artists began to learn the art of silversmithing from their interaction with the Spanish, their metal jewelry designs burgeoned in the Southwest. Native jewelry such as the Squash Blossom necklace design (see the examples below), unique to the region - including Hopi silver overlay bracelets and Navajo turquoise inlay rings - combined and developed from that amalgamation of newly learned Spanish smithing techniques with their own traditional native designs to create distinctly Southwestern-styled jewellery unique to Native Indian culture.

Each Native American Indian Tribe has its own unique style of jewelry making.

The Zuni Indian Nation (located in New Mexico): the Zuni jewellers' distinctive designs utilize mosaic (to stunning effect - as evidenced in the example below), clusters, channel inlay, andwhat is commonly referred to as the petit point or needlepoint methods, using a variety of hard materials in the form of miscellaneous stones and shells.

The Navajo Indian Nation (located in the northern portion of Arizona and New Mexico): are famous for their Squash Blossom necklaces and their jewellers tend to use large pieces of turquoise, coral and other inlay stones. Navajo sand casting is one of the oldest silver working methods; the Navajos are the largest producers of Native American jewelry.

The Hopi Indian Nation (located in the region of Arizona):theHopi silversmiths favour the overlay technique with infrequent use of stones in their jewelry. According to the site, jewely-paideia.com, "Making jewelry with the overlay technique involves sawing the design out of one sheet of silver and then overlaying it on a second sheet to which it is then sweated or soldered. The background is oxidized to darken it with the top layer of the jewelry polished."

Traditionally speaking, although Southwestern Indian jewellery is more often than not executed in silver, contemporary designers are finding new ways to express their talents, such as their experimentation in the usage of gold (as the examples below demonstrate). Occasionally, they mix both metals, silver and gold, in the same piece.

Standard Oil heiress Mary Millicent Rogers was considered one of the most sophisticated fashion icons of her day. Acclaimed for her chic and immensely wealthy, she had "A passion for life's aesthetic pleasures inspired a journey that led her to the beautiful and historic land of Taos, New Mexico ... She believed the Southwestern Indian culture was a precious part of America's heritage that had to be recognized and preserved." (Quote: http://www.millicentrogers.org/)

"Her designer friend, Gilbert Adrian, introduced her to Taos in New Mexico. In 1947, she, like so many other celebrities, was drawn to the area's beauty, dry climate, and the Indians and Hispanic peoples. She was fascinated by Indian art and began collecting jewelry, blankets, baskets, textiles, and santos(folk representations of saints done mainly in wood). She lived in a simple, remodeled adobe house." (Quote: http://www.southcoasttoday.com/)

Millicent Rogers amassed a massive collection of Navajo jewellery, textiles and artifacts. Her namesake museum in Taos, The Millicent Rogers Museum, built to house her extensive collections, opened in 1956 by her family to preserve and showcase her extensive collection of the Southwestern art that she had lovingly assembled during her lifetime. Astoundingly, just of Millicent's vast personal collection of silver and turquoise Southwestern jewellery alone, the museum contains over one thousand pieces .

Suggested readings:

A Guide to Indian Jewelry of the Southwest (1999), by Georgiana K. Smith: Western National Parks Association

Hi I just enter your site ,excellent job.Wondering about pic no 16 the Jimmie King Jr. bracelet.I have one in gold and silver.Is it rare and what is it worth. I have inherited and don't know anything about it.

I've no idea what the value of such things may be; I wouldn't exactly consider myself to be a jewellery expert by any stretch of the imagination.

My suggestion in regards to your Jimmy King Jr. bracelet is that you find a jewellery expert - preferrably someone specifically knowledgeable about Southwestern jewellery - & have it properly appraised; it will take some time & effort but, in the end, if you really want to have it accurately appraised, you'll find it's worth the work involved. (You may consider starting the process by contacting some of the more reputable auction houses & seek the advice of some of their jewellery experts.)

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